Creativity heals me, body and soul
Creativity heals me, body and soul
Emotional healing happens, my breathing slows down and my body calms down while I'm making art. I know this is a big part of why I chose this path.
Hello my friends and readers! In this week’s post, I talk a bit about how making or creating anything is healing for the creator, and certainly so for the observer. Read on for more.
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Visit my art website: KrisCahillArt.com.
Fine art prints of my work: Fine Art America shop
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Thank you for showing up, for reading and listening, and for the lovely feedback many of you have given me on my work.
Love, Kris
Creativity heals me, body and soul
I’ve known since I was a child that being creative is healing for me. I didn’t consciously realize this back then, I just knew I wanted to make things, and I felt better when I did. I was drawn towards the people and things I needed to help me do this. A lot of them showed up for me at the perfect time.
Which is kind of how things work if we pay attention.
I was lucky to have parents who encouraged me in this, my mom was an artist who loved making things too. She would set us up to make fun arty messes in our basement, the only place in the house we were allowed to play with clay and paint and glitter and make huge messes. When we made stuff together, I noticed that everyone seemed calmer. My body always felt safer and happier when engaging in creative play. Even mom was calmer, which took some doing, believe me.
My mom was the queen of making all kinds of things out of other things. We repurposed a lot, making new things out of old things. One Christmas we made a bunch of little sparkly ‘trees’ out of old Readers Digests, folding each page and gluing the whole book back to back so that it resembled a standing tree, then painting it green or silver or gold, and spraying it with glitter. Such messy fun, so satisfying. We cut snowflake patterns and used glass wax to create snowflakes on our windows. We glued a lot of noodles on paper plates, then painted them to make interesting designs.
We had Play-Doh, and we made homemade clay from flour and water. My Lite Brite was my very favorite toy, and I had a wood burning kit. There were Colorforms, crayons and pencils, embroidery supplies, sewing supplies and a sewing machine as I got older. I was a lucky kid to have the tools in front of me, and I’m grateful to have had adults around me who were comfortable working with their hands.
I don’t own a single one of these old projects I made, have no idea where most of them ended up. But I do have the memories, the information I learned, the knowing on a deep sensory level that creativity is good for me. I know this to my core.
I can sit down to paint, draw, write, sew, or create in any way, and if I allow myself to be in the moment as I do this, my whole body calms down. Cooking has become a creative outlet for me too, which is great because I love eating!
Learning to be and listen in each moment helps this all work, instead of skipping ahead to fears about the outcome. If I’m present, I’m not comparing myself with other artists, not getting sidetracked by someone else’s energy or demands in my space, not sitting in self doubt or judgment.
I can get as nerdy as I want about mixing color, playing with painting tools, taking my time making a good mess in my studio. If my agenda is simply to play and work with what’s in front of me in this moment, I will succeed in having this creative session. Magical things appear, as if out of the ether.
If however, I get stuck in overthinking, judging, needing it to turn out a certain way, comparing myself to someone else - I’ll feel worse instead of better.
When you purchase original art from an artist who made it themselves, you are investing in this process. You are buying something that came out of one moment, one time, something that will never be repeated again in the same way. As amazing and beautiful as fine art prints are, they never can replace the uniqueness and energy and spirit achieved by an original work of art.
It’s the curiosity, the ‘I wonder’ that arises out of all of this, that matters.
Isn’t that how each day ends up working regardless of how we try to control it? When push comes to shove, we simply don’t have the control we wish we did.
One of the reasons why making art is healing for me is that it’s always a reminder to be here right now, in this moment, in communication with what I’m doing. If I can simply be and allow myself to enjoy this moment here, something brilliant can simply show up. A breath of fresh air, a new attitude, healing on some level, can simply appear. It does so all the time, if we only allow the space for it to be.
This week’s art video is about painting with objects and throwaway items. I had so much fun doing this one!
Inspiration for making art that is healing
Film
Jacques Tati was a writer, actor, and director who made brilliant films featuring a character he created, Mr. Hulot. My husband and I watched ‘Mon Oncle’ a few days ago and absolutely loved it. Check Tati out on IMDb.
Poetry
Amy Gerstler - is a poet whose work I love. ‘Dearest Creature’ is my favorite collection of hers, and this poem my absolute favorite of all.
advice from a caterpillar :: amy gerstler
Chew your way into a new world.
Munch leaves. Molt. Rest. Molt
again. Self-reinvention is everything.
Spin many nests. Cultivate stinging
bristles. Don’t get sentimental
about your discarded skins. Grow
quickly. Develop a yen for nettles.
Alternate crumpling and climbing. Rely
on your antennae. Sequester poisons
in your body for use at a later date.
When threatened, emit foul odors
in self-defense. Behave cryptically
to confuse predators: change colors, spit,
or feign death. If all else fails, taste terrible.
Thank you for reading! I hope you have a wonderful creative week. Love, Kris